Spaghetti squash with ground turkey meat sauce. This makes me not miss pasta.

I’m back to report on my one month trial of a Paleo diet and can say that it’s been fairly successful. I have lost 8 pounds this month and while it is not the 10 pounds I had aimed for, I am happy with it since I had a few days of very much not Paleo eating throughout the month.

Overall, it is not difficult to stick to Paleo foods on a day to day basis. It is most difficult, like many diets that restrict your choices, in social situations and when eating at restaurants. The latter is the easier of the two since most restaurants will allow you to sub starches for steamed/roasted vegetables. Parties, though? Really hard. If you can eat beforehand, it helps. However, most parties we go to we are there for 5+ hours and as time passes, I get hungry again!

The other thing I did this past month was count my calories every day. Honestly, I have to wonder if my weight loss truly came from calorie counting rather than Paleo eating. I suppose I could try another experiment where I don’t eat Paleo but still count calories for the next month? I’m not sure I want to go to that extreme, though. Weight loss aside, eating a Paleo diet has truly reduced my frequent bouts of stomach pain/bloat/gas from my previous diet consisting heavily of whole grains and beans.

With that said, I’m still not convinced that grains and legumes are truly bad for you, especially when eaten in moderation. I’ve long been a believer in a well rounded diet that doesn’t completely eliminate entire food groups (unless necessary, of course).

So where do I go from here? I’ve decided to continue eating Paleo as regularly as possible, because it really is nice to not experience bad stomach cramps on an almost daily basis. However, I am just not the type of person who won’t have a cupcake on her birthday (the 17th of this month, by the way!) or drink a couple of beers at a summer barbecue. I think it is okay to allow myself those things on occasion. Getting to a healthy weight is really important to me but so is living a fun and happy life. It comes down to one word: balance.

I’m 4 days into my Paleo lifestyle, and other than Saturday night being a major fail, things are going alright. More on that in a bit. I’m basically eating eggs with fruit for breakfast, a salad at lunch with chicken or tuna, another piece of fruit in the afternoon, and then another combination of protein and veggies for dinner.

Today, breakfast was scrambled eggs with a salsa I made from avocado, tomatoes, red onion, salt, and lime juice. Pretty great. And we ate an early dinner, pictured above. It was meat sauce made with ground turkey over spaghetti squash and a salad. Also pretty great. For dessert, I had a bunch of fresh, ripe strawberries.

One thing I am struggling with is getting enough calories in each day. I noticed on my first day, after adding them up at night, I ate 1245 calories. The second day, I didn’t even make 1200. And between those two days, I ran 3 miles and did 60 minutes of Zumba. Definitely not enough caloric intake to support that level of activity. On Friday afternoon, I panicked after realizing I’d only consumed 600 some odd calories and I had my Zumba class immediately after work. I was out of food for the day and really felt like I needed some kind of snack so I’d have the energy for class. It was so not Paleo, but I ended up eating a small bag of Stacy’s Pita Chips. They helped, but I think I should probably get some bananas for that kind of situation.

In any case, let’s just say I made up for my calorie deficit at a graduation party on Saturday night. I started off great – drinking water instead of alcohol and I filled my plate with some meatballs and salad. It was dessert that killed me though. I ended up eating a terribly good piece of cheesecake and then a white chocolate blondie later. Oh, and at some point I decided that I was going to drink sangria. I ended up feeling like crap by the end of the night, so lesson learned.

This coming week, I am going to figure out how to eat meals that have enough calories to get me through the day, without being incredibly high in fat (it is really easy to increase calories by eating nuts or oils, for example, but too many and you end up with way too much fat consumption for the day).  Hopefully by the end of the week, I’ll have it mastered!

Well, since it’s been six months, I thought it was a good time to start blogging again. Ha. In all seriousness, winter really kills my mojo. I don’t necessarily get depressed, but all creative pursuits go out the window. It’s a real struggle at work, especially. With that said, spring is here and well, spring is about new beginnings, right?

So I’m back with a new look (I cut bangs!), some new activities in my life,  and today also happens to be the start of a new diet experiment. But first, let’s recap the last six months:

• I ran regularly up until Christmas, then I fell off the bandwagon for the entire month of January
• At the end of January, I signed up for a 10K  (in April) to motivate myself to get moving again. Keep in mind that I’d only run a 5K at that point.
• I spent all of February getting back into the running groove, then started my official 10K training plan.
• Training went very, very well. No injuries, very few bad runs.
• Race day was April 30th! I’m still a pretty slow runner, but I finished all 6.2 miles in 1 hour and 12 minutes, at a pace of 11:40 per mile!! You guys, I was (and still am) so thrilled! Less than a year ago, I could barely run for 60 seconds straight and my 1 mile time was around 15 minutes. So a big WOOHOO to me.
• Overall, weight loss has been very, very slow. On the positive side, I am down just about 15 pounds since the fall. With that said, I could have potentially lost a lot more. Why didn’t I? Because I have a major portion control problem and I eat too much Ben & Jerry’s
• My cholesterol has dropped from an all-time high of 245 overall (in 2010) to 209! Again, thrilled. Glucose is good, BP is good, numbers are in good shape.

So here I am today. This week, after weeks of little pushes from a few of my co-workers, I went to a Zumba class! Honestly, this is one of those things I thought was ridiculous and that I’d never like it. Boy was I wrong. I LOVED it. I’m not sure why I had the attitude — I spent 10 years of my childhood and teenage years in dance classes (jazz, ballet, and tap – it was my life) and I kind of felt like I was in one again. So I’m planning on incorporating a Zumba class into my fitness regimen twice a week – Tuesdays and Fridays.

And now, about my diet/30 day experiment. A good friend/co-worker is a Paleo Pusher™. Yes, another co-worker coined that term for him. Ha. Anyway, he’s been pushing me to give this a try for a while now. Maybe he just wants someone else to suffer with him? The information on Paleo is all over the internet, but in summary, it’s eating whole foods, nothing processed, no grains, no dairy, no added sugar. Legumes are also verboten (except green beans) and that was the one particular that made me cringe. As you guys know, I eat a largely vegetarian diet and rely on tofu and beans for much of my protein. So there is a whole science behind why legumes are not good for our bodies, and honestly, I’m not sure I agree with it, but I am giving this 30 days anyway.

I went grocery shopping last night and bought a boatload of produce, eggs, nuts, and more meat than I’ve ever purchased at once in my life. I have to admit that I feel ethically challenged buying this much meat (yes I do eat meat, so I’m not opposed to it, but I truly believe that reducing meat consumption is not only better for our bodies but the environment). And what will this do to my cholesterol? Why am I doing this anyway? These were the things running through my mind as I shopped. But the truth is, I need a shock to my system, a little kick if you will, and 30 days isn’t going to kill me.

Will I continue on after 30 days? Who knows. I am pretty sure I am not going to go without ice cream or cake for the rest of my life, but cutting out added sugar on a regular basis doesn’t sound like a bad thing. I will more than likely incorporate legumes back into my diet, because I just do not see myself living on a high animal protein diet. It just doesn’t sit right with me.  And frankly, I like to drink beer. I’m married to a home brewer, it was practically in our wedding vows to like beer. So no grains, ever? Not a chance. Also, I have tickets to a beer festival on June 4th, so Paleo is just going to have to take a vacation day.

So here we are on day 1, my first full day. Technically, I started with last night’s dinner, so my official last day will be the evening of June 9th. I also have a 5K race that day that I’m hoping to PR in (Hollis Fast 5K for anyone local). What am I expecting at the end of 30 days? A 10 pound weight loss would be grand. Inches lost around my middle.  A steady energy level without spikes and drops from sugar. We’ll see what happens. Stay tuned!

P.S. That picture up there is tonight’s dinner – baked salmon, half a sweet potato, and fiddleheads!

I’ve been very MIA, I know. I hope to blog a ton more in the new year, but until then, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Okay you guys, this soup? Is seriously amazing. Not only does it taste incredible, but it came together in minutes and most of the cooking time is taken up letting the pot simmer on the stove all by itself. So you can do other things while it’s cooking….like play Angry Birds on your phone (guilty as charged). This soup came to be because I have an abundance of its main ingredients: chickpeas, tomatoes, pumpkin, and peanuts. I had heard of African peanut soup in the past, so I started Googling for recipes. I found this one and while my soup is a little bit different, I credit my inspiration to their version. If you’re not a fan of chickpeas, I hear this is also great with shredded chicken – or maybe try a combination of both. That’s what I plan to do next time – and there will be many next times. I can see this soup on frequent rotation throughout the winter.

African Peanut Soup with Chickpeas, Tomatoes, and Pumpkin

• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 cinnamon stick
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 2 cans (15ish oz) or 1 box (Pomi) of diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 can (15 oz) of pumpkin puree
• 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 tsp salt
• a big pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup dry-roasted, unsalted peanuts
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 large can (29 oz.) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
• Fresh cilantro or baby spinach, chopped, for garnish

Begin by sauteing the onion in oil until it starts to brown around the edges. Add the garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, cinnamon stick, and cloves.  Cook for another 3 minutes or so, stirring frequently.

Add the diced tomatoes, carrot, pumpkin, water, and salt. Give it a good stir so everything blends together. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Put a lid on your pot and let it do it’s thing for about 20 to 25 minutes. You’re really just trying to cook the carrot here – you want it easy to bite into but not mushy.

Take off the lid, fish out the cinnamon stick, and with an immersion blender, carefully start to puree the soup right inside the pot. Don’t puree the whole thing – you want to thicken up the broth but leave lots of chunky tomatoes, carrots, and onions. Alternately, you can remove a few cups of the soup and puree in a regular blender if you don’t have an immersion style one. Be careful! The soup is really, really hot.

Add the cayenne pepper, peanuts, and peanut butter. Whisk the soup until the peanut butter is incorporated. Add the chickpeas (or cooked shredded chicken) and cook for another 5 minutes until everything is heated through. Ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped cilantro or shredded baby spinach.

Fixing my blog. I accidentally overwrote all of my customizations a little over a week ago while updating my blog’s theme. Oops. I bought the pro version of this theme a while back, but never installed it, so I figured I may as well do it now.  So that’s why you see a new look! I’m not quite done tweaking it yet, but I’ll get to it eventually.

Watching my sister, Steph, run and finish her first marathon. I’m so, so proud of her. Steph is my running inspiration and I don’t think I’d have started running again if it weren’t for her. So congratulations, Steph!! You’re a marathoner!

Cooking bowls of yumminess. This is a bowl of roasted broccoli, baked tofu (seasoned with salt, pepper, and cumin) and sauteed mushrooms with yummy peanut sauce. Guys, it was so good. By the way, I baked the broccoli and tofu together on a cookie sheet – 400 degrees for 20 minutes, flip tofu, toss broccoli, and bake another 10-15 minutes.

Joining a gym. Yup, I did it!! It was getting harder and harder to run after work, especially since I’ve been working a little later than usual. It was getting darker faster and faster every day. I contemplated limiting my running to weekends only and doing other activities during the week (I have an elliptical at home), but that didn’t appeal to me very much. A brand new Planet Fitness opened up in walking distance of me, so I signed up. It’s a very basic, no frills gym, but it works for me. I can run on the treadmill and even get in some strength training – something I desperately need to do.

I ran just over 3 miles tonight in 40 minutes. It felt so great! I am finally back up to the distance I was running prior to injuring myself in September. So glad to be there again. I have a little work to do on speed, but I’m not worried about it. I’m really just thrilled to be running pain-free. Yay!!

So that’s it! Here’s to hoping my schedule settles down a bit and I can get back to posting more often.

One of my down falls with travel is that I tend to eat poorly. I think I did pretty well this week though. I mainly stuck to fresh fruit and protein bars or yogurt for breakfast, snacks like pretzels and hummus, and lighter dinners. I had this amazing ceviche dish at Cantina Laredo and some pretty great sushi at a place called Mikado.

I didn’t get a chance to run at all during my trip so I’m really looking forward to getting back to it. I did manage a wonderful pain-free run for a half hour last weekend – the first run in a long time that didn’t involve me stopping to walk. It felt so very good. I’m starting to worry about the impending darkness that is creeping up on me by the minute after work every day, though. I’m thinking about joining a gym again but I’m not sure yet. The other thing I’m considering is not running during the week and doing something else (P90x anyone? My friend Sarah is kicking butt with this program), and running only on weekends. I don’t have my own treadmill and don’t plan on buying one.

And in yum-related news, I made this super tasty Meditterranean roasted eggplant stew before my trip. I followed the recipe as written and topped mine with some crumbled feta. Incredible.

I don’t post a lot of non-vegetarian recipes here, but I couldn’t pass this one up. The truth is, Scott and I eat vegetarian at least 4 days a week, usually 5 or 6. I actually find it much easier to prepare veggie meals. I think the chili could be veganized by eliminating the meat and either adding more beans or veggie faux meat crumbles. The cornbread contains eggs, but I know there are lots of vegan substitutes for those.

Before I get to the recipes, I wanted to share that I’m NOT running my 5K race today. And I’m okay with it. I’m slowly working my way back to running regularly after my injury and while it’s feeling much better, I don’t feel good about pushing it with a race. Right now, I’m happy running 2 miles at a time and will work from there. So skipping this race is fine by me; I’d much rather keep running long term than risk another injury and have to sit out another few weeks or even months.

Okay, so the recipes!! Actually, you can find the pumpkin cornbread recipe right here: Tasty Kitchen Pumpkin Cornbread. I didn’t change a thing, so it doesn’t make sense to repost it here. The turkey pumpkin chili is based on a recipe from Whole Foods. I just made a few small tweaks.

Turkey Pumpkin Chili

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped (2 is pretty spicy, 1 would be mild)
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with their liquid
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add onion, pepper, jalapenos and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add turkey and cook until browned. Add tomatoes, pumpkin, water, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and add beans. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes more. Add additional salt, pepper, or spices if necessary (start with salt….it will bring out the other flavors). I topped my chili with a little bit of sour cream and chopped parsley (cilantro would be great, too).

I’m so happy with how this project turned out. It makes the windows look brighter and bigger. And the crisp white makes me like the wall paint so much more (I was iffy about it before). Next up? Refinishing the dresser!

And getting back on topic, I have recipes coming for this amazing turkey pumpkin chili and pumpkin cornbread later this week!